# Is OpenClaw free? The open source answer, and the costs that stay

> OpenClaw's software is free to download and self-host, with no paid tier and no hosted service. The costs that stay are the machine it runs on, the model keys you bring, and the time to operate it. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, with free self-hosting and a managed cloud for teams that want one.

URL: https://openclaw-alternative.com/is-openclaw-free

## Free software, and what each option still costs

Kortix is first because it pairs free self-hosting with a managed cloud a team can buy.

| | Kortix (recommended) | OpenClaw | Vellum |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-host cost | Free | Free software; you run it | Free to download; self-host has no platform fee |
| What you still pay for | Model keys, or Kortix Cloud seats | Your machine or server, and model API keys | Model API keys, or Vellum Cloud |
| Managed cloud | Kortix Cloud from $40 per seat per month | No hosted tier | Vellum Cloud from $30 per month |
| Runs where | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem | Your machine or a server | Your machine or Vellum Cloud |

Sources: Kortix pricing at kortix.com/pricing, OpenClaw at docs.openclaw.ai, Vellum at vellum.ai (checked October 2026).

## Run Kortix yourself

The shipped self-host commands, from the Kortix docs.

### Self-host

`terminal`

```sh
$ curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
$ kortix self-host init --domain kortix.example.com --admin-email you@example.com
$ kortix self-host start
```

### Evaluate locally

`terminal`

```sh
$ kortix self-host init --tunnel cloudflare
$ kortix self-host start
```

### Check the instance

`terminal`

```sh
$ kortix self-host doctor
```

## Is OpenClaw free?

Yes. OpenClaw's own documentation describes the project as open source and community-driven, developed by the OpenClaw Foundation, an independent nonprofit, with no paid tier and no hosted service. You download it, run the Gateway on your own machine, and pay nothing to obtain the software. The costs that follow are the ones people miss, and they show up the moment the agent starts running.

## What free covers, and what it does not

OpenClaw is free to obtain, and the bill arrives in three places. You provide the machine it runs on, whether a laptop, a Mac mini or a server, because [OpenClaw's documentation](https://docs.openclaw.ai) states there is no hosted service in the middle. You bring the model, either an API key from your provider or a subscription you already hold. And you spend your own time on install, channel pairing, the configuration at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json, and keeping the server patched.

None of that is a flaw in the software. It is the shape of any self-hosted tool: the software is free, and the operations are yours.

## Where that cost profile changes at team scale

One person can carry those three costs. A team multiplies them. Someone has to run and patch the shared server, decide who may reach it, and separate one person's work from another's. OpenClaw's documentation notes that the same gateway runs as a shared team deployment with configuration as the only difference, which leaves per-person access, shared memory and an audit of every action to you. At that point the running cost stops being measured in model tokens and starts being measured in people.

## How Kortix's cost and ownership compare

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers. Its cost shape is the same at the bottom and different at the top. Self-host is free: run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. When a team wants a managed cloud, Kortix Cloud starts on the Free plan at $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project, and the team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled. Prices are on [Kortix](https://kortix.com/pricing), checked October 2026.

The difference is what the money buys. On OpenClaw, a team's spend goes to the machine and the model, and the coordination is work you do. On Kortix, self-host costs nothing and the paid tiers add the parts a team runs on, including per-resource permissions for people and agents, an audit trail, and work landing through a change request.

## Which fits

If you want one personal assistant running for free on your own machine, OpenClaw is free to obtain and honest about the costs it leaves to you. If you want an open-source platform a team can self-host or run as managed cloud, with a per-seat price that includes the coordination, Kortix is the one built for that. A team that wants to stand Kortix beside OpenClaw directly can read the [Kortix vs OpenClaw comparison](/kortix-vs-openclaw), or start from the full list of [OpenClaw alternatives](/openclaw-alternatives). To put either shape on your own server, [self-hosting an OpenClaw alternative](/self-host-openclaw-alternative) covers the pieces.

## OpenClaw cost questions

What free covers, and what it does not.

### Is OpenClaw really free?

The software is. OpenClaw's own documentation describes it as open source and community-driven, with no paid tier and no hosted service, so there is no charge to obtain it. The costs start when you run it.

### What does it cost to run OpenClaw?

It depends on how you run it. You provide a machine, whether a laptop or a server, and you pay your model provider for the tokens the agent uses, either directly or through a subscription you already hold. OpenClaw itself adds no software fee.

### Is there a free open-source alternative with a managed cloud?

Kortix is open source, self-host is free, and it also runs as a managed cloud. The Free plan is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project; the team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled (checked October 2026).

## Start free, or self-host the open-source AI Operating System

The Free plan is $0 with 200 credits per month; the team plan is $40 per seat per month.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem